Sierras
by ChristyK
Summary: The brothers hunt a creature in the Sierra Nevadas who drains its victims of the fluids in their bodies.
1. Chapter 1

Well here's another little story I came up with. Hope you like it. I wasn't going to start posting this yet because I'm going on vacation next week and won't be able to continue it till I get back, but I thought what the heck….might as well get it started.

**Sierras**

The brothers stood at the edge of the cliff and looked out over the vast mountain range. The Sierra Nevadas spread out before them both beautiful and deadly.

"This place is huge, how are we ever going to find that thing out there?" Dean asked as he glanced over at his brother.

"Well the rangers said that the patches of dead woods have all been within a five mile radius… At least that limits it a little." Sam said as he popped a breaded mushroom in his mouth.

Dean looked at him in disgust.

"How the hell can you eat that stuff?"

"They're good…try one." Sam said as he held the bag out to his brother.

"Get out of here." He pushed the bag away. "I can't even stand the smell of them….Do you know what you're eating? You're eating fungus, that's what."

"It's a lot better then the crap I've seen you eat."

"Well at least I don't buy my food from some stranger alongside the road. How the hell do you know that stuff is even fresh?"

"I was hungry; I didn't have much of a choice." Sam glared at his brother. "If you would have stopped at that diner like I asked you to I could have gotten a burger ….But oh no….not you….you couldn't take ten minutes to let me run in and order some take out."

"That place was packed…it would have taken you more then ten minutes, more like an hour and ten minutes. Besides I wanted to get here before dark. These roads are tricky after dark."

"You have an excuse for everything don't you?" Sam said as he popped another mushroom in his mouth then licked the grease off his lips.

"You're disgusting… You know all that grease will kill you one day."

"Well then I'll die a happy man." Sam finished off the last mushroom then tossed the bag into the back of Dean's car.

"Hey!" Dean started to protest.

"Sorry but there's no trash can around here and I don't litter." Sam smiled knowing that the mushroom smell would stay in the car for awhile and for some reason he got great pleasure in that. He then changed the subject back to why they were there. "Okay so what do we know about this thing?"

"It's called a Musteego, it's an Indian name meaning stealer of life….Dad and I hunted one up in Minnesota a few years back. Nasty creatures….they suck the life out of everything they touch…suck them dry."

"So that's why all those patches of dead forest."

"Yep. That thing will suck the fluids from anything alive, trees, animals, plants, and humans. Sucks them dry till there's nothing left but a dried out shell."

"So if we find it how do we kill it?"

"A gold bullet, right between its eyes."

"Gold? I thought silver killed most of these kinds of things."

"Not a Musteego, it takes gold to kill one of those, at least that's what killed the last one we ran into. The good thing is we have gold bullets; the bad thing is we only have three. If we find this thing we got to hit it square between its eyes, if we don't, we're out a bullet and once they're gone we might as well kiss our ass goodbye."

"Nothing else will kill it?"

"Not as far as we know. … Oh there's always a chance there might be something else that we don't know about but…"

"If we don't know what it is it isn't going to help us." Sam finished Dean's sentence.

"You got it."

"So how are we going to get in there? Your car will never make it over those roads."

"Horseback."

"You got to be kidding."

"Nope." Dean grinned over at his brother. "You're not scared of horses are you?"

Sam could tell Dean was hoping he was, he knew his brother liked nothing more then ribbing him about his phobias; fortunately horses wasn't one of them.

"No I'm not scared of horses, Jess and I used to ride on the beach all the time." Sam turned away from Dean as his eyes filled up when he mention his girlfriend. She had been dead for over two years now but he still grieved for her and he knew he always would, she was the love of his life and no one would ever replace her.

Dean could tell Sam was upset so he patted him on the back as he turned back to the car.

"Well let's get down to the ranger's station and see if they have a couple of horses we can rent for the week."

**Ranger's station**

They headed into the ranger's station and gave the man at the desk their most charming smiles.

"Hi." Dean nodded to the man. "We're going camping for a week and would like to rent a couple of horses."

"You've ridden before?"

"Yeah."

"It'll be a hundred bucks a day for each horse." He handed them both a paper. "Read this then sign it at the bottom. It's an agreement that if the horse is hurt in anyway you are responsible for the medical bills. Also it says that we are not responsible for any injuries you may receive while on the horse or in the park."

Both brothers signed the agreement then handed the papers back to the ranger. Dean then pulled out his credit card and handed it the ranger.

The ranger ran the credit card through the scanner and satisfied that everything seemed to be in order got up and led them out to the barn in the back.

"The grey and bay are for inexperienced riders; both are older and very gentle and shouldn't cause any problems. The black and pinto are for the average rider and the red and palomino are for experienced riders, they both need a firm hand."

"I think we'll take the black and pinto." Sam said quickly. He knew if he let Dean choose he would have taken the red and palomino just to try to turn the hunt into a competition to see who the better rider was. But Sam knew they'd have enough to worry about in the woods and they didn't need to be fighting headstrong horses also.

They packed their gear into bundles and fastened them onto their saddles, then the ranger gave them a brief course on caring for the horses on the trail. They then gently gave their horses a little kick and were off.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you like it so far.

**Sierras**

Chapter two

They had ridden only about half an hour before the sun started to set and rather then risk riding at night on the dangerous trails they decided to find a suitable campsite. They soon found a clearing and after letting the horses graze for awhile they bedded them down for the night. Dean stood next to a creek that ran by their campsite and looked at a map.

"If we ride all day tomorrow and follow the creek we should run into some of the dead patches of woods by tomorrow night."

"When was the last time you rode Dean?"

"Umm… maybe twelve years ago, why?"

"If we ride all day tomorrow we're going to be barely able to move the next day, we'll be walking bowlegged for a week. I think we should ride for an hour or so then walk, then ride again switching off and on. That way we'll stay loose and won't stiffen up."

Dean grinned over at Sam.

"Can't handle it can you?"

"It's not me I'm worried about Dean."

"Oh…so you think I can't handle it?"

"It had crossed my mind."

"Well you can walk if you want, I'm riding."

"Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me when you can barely stand up straight."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…." Dean walked over to his pack and took out two small folding fishing poles. "The creek looks like it has a lot of trout in it….Who ever catches the biggest can rest while the other sets up camp and makes dinner." He said as he handed Sam a pole.

"Why must everything be a competition with you? Why can't we just fish for fun rather then turn it into a contest?"

"What's the matter Sammy, scared you'll lose?"

Sam grabbed one of the poles from Dean then reached in the pack and tied one of the lures onto the end of it.

"Ready when you are." He said to Dean.

They both tossed their lines into the water at the same time. Within five minutes Dean pulled a twelve inch trout out of the water then looked over at Sam grinning.

"I'll take mine well done." He said holding up his fish but his smile soon faded when Sam pulled a fourteen inch trout out a minute later.

"Yeah, so will I." Sam said grinning back at his brother.

**Later**

Sam didn't take as much pleasure in beating Dean as his brother did in beating him. He figured it was just a big brother thing, always wanting to be one up on the younger brother. He let Dean struggle with the small tent while he tended to the horses. Sam knew it usually took two men to set the tent up and was about to head back to his brother to help when he suddenly felt dizzy. He fell against a tree and took a couple of deep breaths waiting for the feeling to fade. He glanced over at Dean and saw that he was looking at him so he quickly shook off the dizzy feeling and acted like nothing had happened and that he was feeling fine.

"You okay?" Dean shouted over to him.

"Yeah…just tripped." Sam shouted back. He felt fine now and immediately forgot the strange sensation as he went over to help his brother. "Let me give you a hand."

"You won the bet…I got it." As much as Dean hated losing a bet with his baby brother he had indeed lost and he would take his punishment.

"We could get this up in a second if you just let me help."

"I got it Sam….If you want to do something go get the fish."

Sam walked over to the creek and pulled the two fish that were attached to a string out of the water. A gentle breeze blew through the valley and its cooling affect was soon lost by the smell that accompanied it. Sam wrinkled up his nose….he had smelled that smell before….death. He looked up and down the creek but couldn't see anything. As he turned around he bumped into his brother who had come up behind him.

"Smell that?" Dean asked as he too stood by the creek and looked out over it.

"Yeah…Over there." Sam pointed to a brown shape a short distance away.

They both walked over and stood over the form which appeared to be a deer that had all the moisture drained from its body and now only a dried out carcass remained.

"Do you think the Musteego did that?" Sam asked as he knelt down next to the body.

"Could be, or that thing could have been dead for a long time." Dean picked up a large stick then bent down and flipped the carcass over. He stood up then pointed at an oval shape wound on the deer's neck with the end of the stick. "It was here Sam. That's the same mark I saw when Dad and I were hunting one. That's where it latched on like a leech and drained the deer of its fluids."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate each of them.

**Sierras**

Chapter three

"Like a leech? What the hell does this thing look like?" Sam asked.

"Ugly."

"Well that helps a lot."

"Don't worry Sam when you see it you'll know."

"What does it look like Dean?" Sam asked again hoping this time he'd get a real answer.

"It sort of has the shape of a man but it's a lot taller and has three arms on each side, it kind of reminds me of a scorpion. But instead of hands it has suction cups that latch on and don't let go. Maybe if you have a blow torch you can get it to release but other then that forget it. It also blends into the background, sort of like a chameleon. If it's standing next to a tree it'll take on the characteristics of the tree. Sometimes you can look right at it and not see it." Dean shook his head. "That thing will suck you dry in minutes."

"You said you and Dad ran across one before…so how did the authorities explain the dry areas and the dried up bodies?"

"They didn't. The one we killed was in this huge state park and the cops that patrolled the area said the dead areas were just like crop circles….no explanation, it just happens." Dean gave a little smile. "But most of the time they just tried to cover it up, you know for the public's best interest….they didn't want to start a panic."

Sam looked down at the deer carcass.

"So you think one of these things is nearby?"

"Could be, or the body could have washed down from the mountains, no way of knowing." Dean looked at his brother. "These things can just sweep into camp and snatch you out of it before you have a chance to holler." He tried to hide his smile; he loved trying to scare his younger brother.

"Oh great, you mean there's no warning?" Sam looked over at Dean and could tell he was trying not to laugh. "Damn it Dean this isn't a joke. This thing is killing people."

"You're no fun anymore Sam." Dean said remembering back to when they were younger and he always managed to scare his little brother, he missed those days. But when he saw the look Sam gave him he continued. "Oh alright…." He said giving in. "You can tell they're around by the smell, they have a smell almost like a Sasquatch, sort of a musty wet dog smell. But by the time you smell it, it's usually too late, it's already there."

"Well then I guess we better take turns keeping watch." Sam grinned at Dean. "And since you lost the bet…. you get first watch."

**Later **

They ate dinner then took turns keeping watch throughout the night. The night went by uneventful and soon the morning light broke through the woods. They loaded up the horses and headed off into the mountains.

"We should reach the latest dead area by tonight." Dean said looking at his map.

"How do we know that thing will still be there?"

"We don't, but it's a place to start."

They rode throughout the morning and into the afternoon following the creek west. Every hour or two Sam would get off his horse and walk next to it while Dean rode. Sam tried to convince his brother he should do the same but Dean wouldn't listen… Why walk when you can ride was his reasoning?

Finally in the late afternoon they decided to stop to rest and eat. Sam smiled to himself; he knew by tomorrow morning Dean was going to regret his decision to ride all day when he'd wake up tomorrow stiff and sore.

"What are you grinning about?" Dean asked.

"Oh….nothing."

"Well you must be smiling about something."

"You'll find out soon enough."

"It's the riding thing isn't it?"

Sam gave a little laugh.

"I won't even say I told you so tomorrow…..or maybe I will. Maybe I'll just rub it in a little."

"Sam I've ridden before, I can handle it."

"But not all day…you've never ridden all day."

Dean reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty.

"Twenty bucks says I'm fine in the morning."

"You're on." Sam started to lead the horses over to an area to graze. "It will be like taking candy from a baby."

As he started down an incline toward a small field he suddenly stopped.

"Dean….Dean get over here."

"What's up?" Dean asked as he walked over.

Sam nodded toward the field where two dried up horse carcasses lay beneath their saddles.

"I think we're definitely heading in the right direction." Sam looked around. "I wonder where their riders are?"

"Hopefully they got away." Dean removed the gun from his saddle bag and checked it making sure it was ready to fire. "We better keep our eyes open, that thing could be anywhere."

The sound of something walking toward them through the deep woods caused them both to quickly spin around.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Sierras**

Chapter four

The brothers spun around as Dean held the gun out in front of him.

"Don't shoot!" A man shouted as he and a woman walked out of the woods.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Dean asked, still holding the gun in front of him. He had learned long ago to be suspicious of everyone.

"We were camping up at the cabin."

"Just you two?"

"No there are four of us." The man said then turned in a circle as he looked around the area. "Did you see it?"

"See what?" Sam asked trying to find out if the man was talking about the thing they were hunting.

"That…that thing?" The man held on to his trembling girlfriend.

"What thing?" Dean asked as he glanced over at his brother.

"Some…some creature! It was horrible!" The girl said crying. "It attacked us and killed two of our horses."

"Did you see which way it went?" Sam asked the man.

"No….We ran back to the cabin and this is the first time we've left it in about a week. We were running out of food and we knew one of us would have to go for help, but I wasn't about to leave my girlfriend back there so we both went."

"Is anyone hurt?" Dean asked.

"No… just scared."

"We need you to take us back to the cabin. We have some food that if we're careful should last a few days."

"What about that thing? We can't stay locked up forever."

"My brother and I will take care of it."

"How? My buddy back at the cabin shot at it and it didn't even seem to slow it down."

"We have a way we think will work."

"So you know about it?"

"Yeah, we've heard about it."

"Well shouldn't we keep going, shouldn't we get out of here before it comes back?"

"It's getting dark and it's a good two days ride out of here. I think you're best bet is to hold up at the cabin and let me and my brother see if we can take care of it."

The girl looked up at her boyfriend.

"Please Randy listen to them. I'm scared and I don't want to be out here, that things out here somewhere, I want to go back."

"It'll be alright Connie." He pulled her close to him as he looked at the brothers. "Okay follow me, I'll show you were the cabin is."

Sam gave a little tug on the horse's reins to get them to follow him then winced in pain, his hand going to his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Dean said noticing the look on his brother's face.

"I don't know….I just…." Sam then groaned and fell to his knees.

"Sammy!" Dean knelt down next to him.

"What's wrong with him?" Randy asked.

"I don't know." Dean glanced up at Randy then put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "What's going on Sam?"

Sam gave a little nervous laugh trying to make light of the situation.

"I just felt a little sick, I'll be fine." He slowly stood back up but Dean could see that his face was red and sweaty.

"Looks like more then just a little sick Sam. Why the hell didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"

"It just came on all of a sudden." He looked over at Dean. "I'm sorry…" He knew when they were on a hunt they both needed to be one hundred percent healthy, even being off a little could mean the difference between life and death.

Dean immediately felt guilty; he knew his brother thought he was mad at him. But he wasn't mad, what he was was worried. They were miles from nowhere and Sam was sick, how sick he had no way of knowing.

"There's nothing we can do here. Let's get you back to that cabin, maybe if you rest a little you'll feel better."

Dean helped Sam up into one of the saddles then offered the other horse to the girl who quickly accepted.

"What are we going to do now?" Randy whispered to Dean as they led the horses to the cabin. "If he's sick who is going to help you kill that thing?" When Dean glanced at him he quickly added. "Don't look at me….I'm no hero. You're the one who said you thought you knew how to kill it."

"I'll take care of it with or without my brother's help. But you need to calm down; flipping out isn't going to help anyone."

Dean looked back at his brother who now sat hunched over in the saddle in obvious distress.

Dean knew he had no choice but to continue to the cabin and pray that what ever was wrong with Sam wasn't serious.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks once more for the reviews; I'm glad some of you like the story. And to the reviewer who doesn't….sorry. All I can say is if you don't like it, don't read it. I know I'm not a good writer, never said I was….I only write for fun. Also a couple of people have e mailed me to say that the story says it has four chapters but it won't let them get past chapter one. I have no idea why this is happening. If anyone knows why please let me know. Are the alerts even going out? Is everyone having this problem or only me? I went back a few pages on the Supernatural site and can't even find it listed at all. With the luck I've been having lately it's probably just me. Oh well…….

**Sierras**

Chapter five

After about an hour of walking through the thick woods they finally reached the cabin. Randy knocked on the door as Dean helped Sam down from the horse.

"Open up Wally!" He shouted when the door remained closed.

The door slowly opened and a man peeked out.

"Who are they?"

"I found them on the trail. They think they know how to kill that thing."

The man looked at Sam who was leaning on his brother for support.

"What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know, he just got sick all of a sudden."

"Well he's not coming in here."

"Open that door or I'll kick it in!" Dean shouted.

Wally opened the door a little more but now was pointing a gun at Dean.

"You leave him out there on the porch. He's not bringing some disease into the cabin."

Dean, with Sam still leaning on him, turned as if to leave but then spun around and kicked the gun out of Wally's hand he then pulled out his own gun.

"Open the damn door!" He shouted as he held the gun out in front of him.

Wally had no choice but to do as he was told. Dean led Sam inside and over to a cot in the corner where he helped him sit down. He then looked around the cabin and saw a girl standing in the corner and could tell she was scared to death.

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." Dean told her. He then looked at Randy. "Go get your friend's gun and give it to me."

Randy picked up Wally's gun and handed it to Dean who emptied it then tossed it on a table.

"You won't be needing that." He told Wally. "That gun isn't going to protect you from that thing."

"But it will from you." Wally had no idea who these strangers were and whether he could trust them or not.

"It's not me you should be worried about."

"What's wrong with him?" Wally asked keeping his distance as he looked at Sam. "Did that thing get hold of him?"

"No, he's just not feeling well." Dean looked at Connie. "My brother has a fever, could you please get me a basin of cool water." When she headed toward the door to draw water from the well Dean looked at Randy. "Go with her, and keep an eye out for that thing, if you smell anything strange get back in this cabin immediately."

While they were gone Dean helped Sam take his shirt off then when they returned he picked up a washcloth lying on the table and dipped it into the water. He then held the wet washcloth to Sam's forehead. Sam took it out of Dean's hand.

"I'm not that sick Dean, I can do it." He said as he sponged the cool water over his face and chest.

Dean then looked at the four people in the room who stood in a group staring at them.

"We might as well introduce ourselves since we're going to be spending some time together….I'm Dean, and this is my brother Sam."

"I'm Randy and this is Connie." Randy introduced his girlfriend then nodded toward the other two. "And that's Wally and Alicia."

"Look…" Dean could tell they didn't know whether to trust him or not. "I don't expect us to be best buddies but we have to work together if we're going to get out of here alive."

"What do you know about it?" Wally asked.

"I've seen one before and I know how to kill it, but what we need to do right now is barricade the windows. When we came I saw a lot of old lumber lying around outside we can use that."

"What is that thing?" Connie asked.

"I'm not really sure, but I do know if we barricade these windows and door we should be able to keep it out. It's not much stronger then an average man as long as you stay away from it. But once it touches you it'll latch on and then… well then it'll kill you."

"How can you kill it?"

"A special bullet…right between its eyes."

"How are we going to find it? It could be anywhere." Randy asked.

"Oh I don't think we'll have to worry about that, it'll come to us."

Alicia began to cry.

"We can't just sit here like bait and wait for it. We got to get out of here. That thing will kill all of us."

"If you go off running through the woods that thing will track you down and kill you. Your best bet is to stay inside and let me see if I can take care of it."

"And what if you can't? What if it gets you?"

"Then my brother will take care of it." Dean knew that the others knew Sam was sick and might not be able to help, so he added. "And if he can't …. well…." He knew if both he and Sam were dead or incapacitated there was little the others could do. He held up the gun that held the gold bullets. "There are only three bullets in this gun….they're special bullets that can kill that thing. If something happens to me and my brother you'll need to shoot that thing square between its eyes with this gun. If you miss…. well if you miss….you're dead.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Sierras**

Chapter six

When Randy and Wally went out to bring some lumber into the house to use to barricade the windows Dean sat down next to Sam.

"How're you doing?"

"I'll be okay." Sam lied, actually he felt pretty lousy. Even though he was burning up with a fever he felt cold inside and tried his best not to shiver in front of Dean. He didn't want his brother to go all mother hen on him since there was nothing he could for him anyway, but Dean saw right through him.

"You're not a good liar Sam….You look like crap."

"Thanks." Sam gave a little laugh. "What are you planning on doing?"

"Well once we got these kids barricaded in here the best we can, I'll go see if I can hunt that thing down."

"Do you think it's wise to leave them alone?"

"Well you'll be here with them. I'll leave you one of the bullets; just make sure you don't miss."

"Hey wait a minute…I'm not letting you go out there by yourself."

"Sam, you're sick, you'll only hold me back."

"Damn it Dean I'm not letting you take this thing on by yourself, no way. If I can get a little rest tonight I'll be fine in the morning."

"Sam you're burning up, you got a fever. I got to end this thing and get us out of here and the only way I can do that is by hunting that thing down and getting rid of it."

"Well at least wait till morning, that thing isn't going to go anywhere."

"The sooner I end it the better."

"It will be a lot easier hunting it in the light, and by morning I might feel better." Sam didn't want his brother going out by himself. Bad things always seemed to happen when they were apart.

Dean knew his brother was right. The creature could blend in with the scenery and it would be almost impossible to find it during the night.

"Okay, but first light I'm out of here."

**Later **

They bedded the horses down in the small shed out back then barricaded the shed the best they could, they then boarded up the windows and door to the cabin. When they were done Dean divided some of the food he and Sam had with the others and after eating they sat around the table talking. Sam hadn't been hungry and crawled off to the cot where he fell into a restless sleep.

"How did you run into the Musteego?" Dean asked as he took a sip of water.

"Musteego?" Wally looked at Dean. "That's what it's called?"

"Yeah, it's an old Indian name. These creatures have been around for a long time; mostly they kept to the backwoods and fed off of animals and plants. But with campers hiking through their territory it was only a matter of time before they found out what easy prey we are. Where did you run across it?"

Randy took a sip of water then began his story.

"We were camping down by the river and something spooked the horses. Wally and Alicia's horses ran off and we spent the day looking for them but couldn't find them. Then later that night we heard one of the remaining horses screaming in pain and we found this….this creature wrapped around it …. That thing was horrible, it had all these arm like things wrapped around the horse's neck. … We didn't stick around to see what it was doing….We just took off running and kept going till we came across this cabin."

"How long did you say you were out here?"

"About a week. … We ran out of food and that's why Connie and I took off, we had to go for help."

"You didn't see it again?"

"No, but we think we smelled it. It had a musty wet smell, but if it _was_ out there it didn't show itself."

"Probably ate its fill and is just waiting till it gets hungry again." As soon as Dean spoke he realized he had better watch what he said, he could tell his words had upset the two couples. "Sorry." He apologized. "Don't worry you'll be safe in here as long as you stay inside. And if you have to go out, go out in pairs and watch each other's backs. My brother and I have enough food that should last a couple of days if we're careful with it. But we had only packed enough for two so you have to go real easy on it."

Wally looked over at Sam who moaned in his sleep as he rolled onto his side.

"Your brother doesn't look too good. How did he get sick?"

"I wish I knew. We had some fish earlier but we shared them and I didn't get sick so it couldn't have been that." Then Dean remembered. "Mushrooms!"

"What?"

"My brother had bought some fried mushrooms from some girl that was selling them alongside the road. Maybe they were bad."

Connie looked over at Dean and he could see the worry on her face.

"If your brother ate bad mushrooms …or worse yet poisonous mushrooms…. he could die."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you still like the story.

**Sierras**

Chapter seven

"Die!" Dean swallowed hard as he looked back at his brother. He had heard of poisonous mushrooms before, their dad had explained about them when they were kids, but he never even thought that Sam might die because of one. He knew he had to get his brother out of there and to a hospital but he knew Sam would throw a fit if he left these people alone to fight off the creature.

Connie put her hand on Dean's arm; she could tell he was upset.

"It might not even be the mushrooms; it's just that it might be a possibility."

"What are the symptoms, do you know?"

"Well first he'll get dizzy and have a fever but he'll also have spells where he feels like he's freezing, it will go back and forth like that, hot then cold. He could also develop a rash. When it gets really bad he'll be lethargic, you know get really tired and have trouble concentrating and staying awake… And then…." She hesitated, she wasn't sure if she should tell him.

"Go on, I have to know."

"Well then he could fall into a coma and …and he could die."

"If it is the mushrooms, how long does he have before it gets bad?"

"A day or two."

"Well that changes things a bit….Instead of you staying here with my brother while I go hunt that thing, we're all going to have to hike out of here tomorrow, I got to get my brother to a doctor. … We should be okay as long as we stay together and keep our eyes open."

"But that thing might track us down and pick us off one by one." Wally said his eyes wide with fear.

"Not if you listen to me and we stick together. We'll get through this….I promise you." Dean tried to reassure them. "Right now we all need to try and get some rest. We'll leave tomorrow at dawn."

**Later that night**

Sam had tossed and turned throughout the night. He finally sat up and saw Dean sitting by his bed where he had drifted off to sleep only minutes earlier. Sam was hot and thirsty, he got out of bed and picked up one of the canteens that was sitting on the table next to him, it was empty. He remembered seeing a well near the cabin when they had rode in and decided to go get a drink and fill the canteen at the same time. As quietly as he could he unbolted the door and stepped outside. As soon as he was outside he could hear two people whispering.

"Hurry up!" The male voice said.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can." The female voice answered.

Sam could tell the voices were coming from the shed where the horses had been bedded down.

He slowly walked toward it being careful to keep out of sight. He crept over to the shed's door and peaked through a crack. Inside he could see Wally and his girlfriend packing what little food they had onto the horses backpacks then climbing up on them. If that wasn't bad enough, Wally had Dean's gun tucked in his waistband.

"Hey!" Sam shouted as he walked into the shed.

"Get out of our way!" Wally shouted back.

"Those are our horses and my brother's gun."

"We stand a better chance by ourselves. We'll send help." Wally said trying to explain his actions.

"You're just going to end up getting yourselves killed. Come back inside, my brother and I will take care of the creature tomorrow."

"Your brother doesn't give a damn about us! You're sick and all he wants is to get you out of here. He plans on taking us along as bait. While that thing is feasting on us he'll take off with you."

"You don't know my brother, he'd never do that."

Wally wasn't about to listen to Sam, all he cared about was getting as far away from there as possible.

"Get out of my way or I swear I'll run you down."

"Go ahead and take the horses, you might be able to outrun that thing with them, but we need the gun."

"I said get out of my way!" Wally pulled out Dean's gun and pointed it at Sam.

Sam put up his hands and backed away.

"We only have three bullets that will kill that thing. You shoot and you're down to two."

"I said move!" Wally didn't care; he was scared and all he was interested in was getting out of there. He fired the gun at Sam then he and his girlfriend gave their horses a kick in the ribs and galloped out of the shed.

Sam gave a little yelp of pain as he fell to his knees.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks so much for the kind reviews.

**Sierras**

Chapter eight

As soon as Dean heard the gunshot he sprang out of his chair and reached for the gun he had left on the table next to him.

"Son of a bitch!" He shouted when he noticed it was missing. He then looked over at the cot Sam had been sleeping on and saw that he was also gone. A million thoughts shot through his head, none of them good. Luckily Sam's gun was in his pack and he picked it up and ran outside.

The first thing he saw was his brother slowly getting up from the ground where he had collapsed.

"Sam!" Dean ran over to him. "What the hell's going on? Are you okay?"

"Wally and Alicia….they took off with the horses and the food…They also took your gun."

"The stupid jerks are going to get themselves killed." Dean looked out into the woods hoping to spot them but they were long gone.

"Dean the gun is gone. We don't have any defense against that thing now."

"We still have one bullet. … I put a bullet in your gun last night while you were sleeping."

"Thank God …" Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "What are we going to do now?"

It was then Dean saw the blood on the side of his brother's shirt and remembered the gun shot he had heard.

"They shot you?" He asked as he pushed Sam's shirt up and examined the wound.

"I'm okay, they just grazed me."

"Those bastards!" Wally and Alicia could have killed his brother and also now wasted a gold bullet. There were only two left, one in the gun they had stolen from him and one in Sam's gun. "There's no way to follow them now, not on foot. Let's get back inside, there's nothing we can do right now."

They headed back inside where Randy stood with his arm around Connie, both obviously scared and wondering what had happened.

"What's going on?" Randy asked as soon as Dean shut the door behind him.

"Your friends took off with our horses and one of the guns." Dean was more angry at himself for losing the gun then he was at them for taking it. How could he have been so stupid he thought? He had sat by Sam's cot with the gun in his lap for most of the night but had felt himself drifting off to sleep and had placed the gun on the table next to him so it wouldn't slip out of his hand and fall on the floor. He never expected one of the group to steal it, and now because of his carelessness he might have gotten them all killed. They were now down to one gun and one bullet, if they ran across the creature they'd only get one shot and they had better make sure it counted. Dean looked over at Sam when he saw him sway a little on his feet. From the light inside the cabin he could see his brother's face was covered in sweat and what looked like a bright blotchy rash.

He took Sam's arm and guided him over to the cot. Sam didn't try to resist, he felt terrible.

"You're burning up Sam." Dean could actually feel the heat radiating off of Sam's body.

"I'm sorry." Sam said, he knew that him being sick would only make things worse then they already were.

"It's okay Sam; it's not your fault…. Don't worry; we're going to get out of this." Dean reassured his brother; he knew Sam was upset over something that he had no control over.

Randy walked over and stood next to Dean.

"What are we going to do?"

Dean glanced over at him. He knew the only thing they could do was to leave the cabin and try to get out of the woods; his brother needed a doctor and even if Sam wasn't sick staying in the cabin was no longer an option. Their food supply was now gone and sooner or later they'd have to leave anyway.

"We'll be leaving here in the morning."

"But Wally took your gun; we'll have nothing to defend ourselves with against that thing."

"We have another gun, we'll get by." Dean neglected to tell him that even though they had another gun, they now only had one bullet that could actually kill the thing.

Randy looked down at Sam.

"He's not looking too good, maybe we ought to leave him here."

"He's going with us."

"He's sick….he'll only hold us back…I think…" Randy started to object.

"He's going with us, end of discussion." Dean interrupted him. "Now I suggest you try to get some sleep, we have a long walk in the morning."

Randy was about to argue with Dean but when he saw the look in his eyes he knew he better shut up. He took Connie's arm and led her into the small side room that they had been sleeping in.

When they were gone Sam looked at his brother.

"He's right you know….I'll only hold you back."

"Don't _you_ start on me Sam." Dean knew his brother would be willing to sacrifice himself in order to save the others, but there was no way he was going to leave him behind.

"Dean I'm sick, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up with you. … I can stay here, and once you kill that thing and get out of the woods you can bring back help."

"I'm not leaving you here Sam so you might as well just shut up."

"Dean….you got to get these people out of here….That's why we do this, to save lives….If you drag me with you through the woods, we could all die."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Sierras**

Chapter nine

"We're all leaving here together Sam, end of story."

"Alright, but I need you to promise me something. If I get worse and fall behind…I want you to leave me."

"Sam…" Dean shook his head and looked away.

"Promise me Dean. You're going to have a hard enough time getting them out of here without dragging me along. If I can't keep up….I want you to go on without me."

"Sam I'm not going to promise you anything. We're all getting out of here tomorrow and I don't want to hear any bullshit about you not being able to keep up. You either keep up or I'll carry you, but we're all getting out of here."

"Dean, we're in this business to save lives, that's why we hunt. Those two people in there might die if we don't get them out of here, and I don't want to be the reason for their deaths. I need you to promise me that you'll do everything you can to get them out of here, and if it means leaving me behind…then so be it." When Dean started to turn away from him Sam grabbed his arm. "I mean it Dean; if it's between me and them I want you to choose them."

Dean knew they could go back and forth about this all night so he decided to tell Sam what he wanted to hear.

"Okay Sam, if it's between you and them….you lose."

"Promise?"

Dean hesitated for a few seconds then said the words Sam wanted to hear.

"Yeah, I promise." Dean knew he'd do everything in his power not to keep that promise. He was determined that he was going to get them all out of there alive and that included his brother.

**The next morning**

Dean sat next to Sam's cot throughout the night the gun in his hand as he watched his brother thrash around on the bed all night drifting back and forth between burning up with fever one minute and freezing the next. It was happening just the way Connie said it would.

Finally the sun came up and Dean went into the side room and woke Randy and Connie up, he then went back to Sam's bed.

"Sam, we got to get moving." He gently shook his brother.

"What?" Sam softly said as he rolled onto his back.

"We can't waste the daylight, we got to get moving."

"Oh….okay." Sam felt like crap but he managed to sit up and began buttoning his shirt. His hands began to tremble as he tried to pop the buttons through the button holes so Dean gently pushed his hands away and did it for him. "Thanks." Sam mumbled as he ran his hand across his sweat soaked forehead. He dreaded the long walk that lay before them but he knew Dean wasn't about to leave him behind and he knew he had to try. Dean knew the same thing and even though he promised Sam he would leave him if he couldn't keep up, there was no way he was going to. How could he live with himself if he did? He had always looked out for his baby brother and he wasn't going to stop now. He reached down and pulled Sam up. At first Sam fell against him but then managed to stand on his own. Dean reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty and shoved it in Sam's pocket.

"What's that for?" Sam looked at Dean confused.

"I made a bet and you won." Dean gave his brother a little smile as he rubbed his sore read end.

Sam gave a weak laugh.

"The horse huh? … Well the walk today should pretty much straighten you out."

"I hope.…Guess we better get going." Dean said as he grabbed their bags and threw them over his shoulder.

"It's a long walk Dean, I can carry my own." Sam reached for his bag but Dean turned away.

"I got it Sam, you just keep up." Dean turned to look at the Randy and Connie who had just emerged from the side room. "You two ready?" When they nodded he headed toward the door. "The food's gone but we can fill up the canteens before we head off."

With that said they walked out to the well, filled their canteens, and headed off into the woods and to what ever lay ahead.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

**Sierras**

Chapter ten

They walked throughout the morning, Dean keeping the pace slow so Sam could keep up. But even though the going was slow, the exertion was still taking its toll on his brother who struggled to keep up. Dean knew Sam needed to rest and finally stopped alongside the creek.

"We'll rest here for a few hours." He told the couple.

"We can't rest….we got to get out of here before that thing attacks." Randy said as he and his girlfriend stopped and looked back at Sam. "If he can't keep up…"

"I said we'll rest for an hour or two." Dean interrupted him making it clear they were going to do what he said. He walked back to Sam who sat down on a fallen tree branch and leaned back against the tree. Dean could tell that he was totally exhausted.

"You okay?" He handed Sam one of the canteens.

Sam nodded as he took a swallow. He then shut his eyes and let the cool water quench his thirst. He finally opened his eyes and looked at Dean.

"You know that thing has been following us for the last hour, I can hear it, and I can smell it." He said quietly not wanting the others to hear.

"I know." Dean looked around the area hoping to be able to spot it but knowing it would be almost impossible to unless it attacked. The creature could be almost standing next to them but with its ability to blend into the background it would be almost next to impossible to see it unless it moved.

"Dean…."

"Sam I don't want to hear it." Dean knew what his brother was thinking.

"Dean you promised me. You got to get them out of here…."

"I am."

"You know what I'm talking about….I don't know if I can go any further. Without me you'll be able to pick up the pace and make it out of here in a little more then a day."

"The pace we're keeping is just fine. Exhausting ourselves isn't going to help."

Sam knew Dean wasn't about to listen to him and it angered him.

"Damn it Dean I don't want you to die because of me! And that's what's going to happen and you know it as well as I do."

"No one's dying Sam, not you, not them, and not me. I'm getting all of us out of here." Dean glanced over at the couple making sure they weren't paying attention.

Sam looked up at Dean as the sweat glistened off of his face and arms.

"I can't make it Dean….I can't go any further."

"Then I'll carry you, because I'm not leaving these woods without you."

"Then you leave me no choice." Sam pulled a small sharp knife out of his pocket and raised it quickly to his throat. Maybe his brother would leave him if he was dead. He was just about to slit his own throat when Dean kicked the knife out of his hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to save your life."

"By ending yours? Damn it Sammy I should kick your ass for trying something like that." Dean hoped it was the fever that was causing Sam to attempt to kill himself and that he was delusional and didn't really know what he was doing.

Sam looked down and shook his head as his eyes filled with tears.

"Dean you don't understand….I don't think I'm going to be making it out of these woods alive…" He looked up at Dean as he blinked back tears. "And I don't want anyone to die because of me…especially you."

"Let me worry about anyone dying Sam. You just worry about keeping up with us and if you can't …I'll carry your sorry ass …But either way we're all making it out of here together… And you try a stunt like that again I'll hogtie you then kick your ass later once we're out of here."

Just then a blood curdling scream came from Connie who had walked over to the creek to try and cool off a little.

Dean and Randy both quickly ran to her side.

"What's wrong?" They both asked in unison.

"Over there!" She pointed to the other side of the creek then turned and grabbed onto her boyfriend preventing him from following Dean.

Dean walked over and looked down. Lying partially in the creek was the withered, dried out body of Alicia.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Once more thanks for the reviews.

**Sierras**

Chapter eleven

Dean immediately spun around and looked around the area.

"Wally! Wally you out there!" He could only hope that Alicia's boyfriend hadn't met the same fate. He then realized that even if Wally was somewhere out there and could hear him he might not show himself thinking they were angry at him for leaving them. "Wally if you can hear me….we're not mad at you. You need to join us; you'll be safer with the group."

"Randy what are we going to do? That thing is going to kill us all. … Oh my God, how am I going to tell her parents that she's dead?" Connie snuggled her head into Randy's chest and cried.

Dean walked over to them.

"Wally is your friend, maybe he'll come in if you call him….That is if he's still even alive."

Randy looked into the thick woods.

"Damn it Wally if you're out there answer us!"

After a few seconds a figure slowly emerged from the woods, it was Wally, the gun hung in his hand by his side.

Dean walked over to him and slowly took the gun out of his hand, but when he checked he noticed it was empty.

"Where's the bullet?" He asked but could tell Wally seemed to be in shock. "Wally, where is the bullet?" Dean repeated louder.

Wally finally looked at him.

"I shot at it…I shot that damn thing and it didn't die." Wally looked into Dean's face. "You told me the bullet would kill it!" Wally threw a punch at Dean but he easily stepped aside and knocked Wally to the ground.

"Where did you shoot it?" Dean asked as he kept Wally on the ground.

"I don't know…It grabbed Alicia and I shot it. I know I hit it…."

"I told you it had to be shot between its eyes. That's the only known way to kill it." Dean stepped back and left Wally get up. "Damn it!" He was pissed off, he was hoping that now that they had his gun back they'd at least have two bullets, but it wasn't to be. Dean stood in front of Wally trying to keep his anger under control. "I don't care that you took the horses or even the gun, you were scared, I understand that, but you shot my brother and for that I'm going to kick your ass once we get out of here."

Wally saw the look in Dean's eyes and knew he wasn't kidding.

While the others talked Sam slowly made his way over to the creek and stood leaning against a tree for support.

"What happened?" He asked Wally.

Wally seemed surprised to see Sam up and walking.

"We were riding down the trail and all of a sudden both of the horses started acting up. Alicia was scared and jumped off of hers; I got down from mine also and tried to calm them down. You could smell that thing out there and I guess the horses were reacting to the smell. Well the horses started going nuts and I couldn't control them, they both took off and there was no way to catch them. There was nothing we could do so we decided to turn back to the cabin; the ranger's station was too far away to walk." As soon as Wally said that he looked down sheepishly knowing that he had left his friends and the two strangers the same fate, trying to walk out of the woods on foot.

"Go on."

"Well we made it to here and then out of nowhere that thing…." Wally swallowed hard as he remembered. "…that thing appeared out of nowhere…All of a sudden it was on us and it grabbed Alicia. I remembered you saying that this gun could kill it so I shot it. I hit it in the back and it released Alicia and turned towards me…" Tears started to run down Wally's face. "But I ran…I ran and left her there..."

Connie walked over to Wally.

"You left her there to die?... You son of a bitch…she loved you."

Wally turned away ashamed of what he had done.

Randy then walked over and grabbed Wally's shoulder and spun him around.

"You bastard, you took off and left us with nothing! Once we're out of this mess I never want to see your face again."

"I was scared, I wanted to protect Alicia."

"You wanted to protect Alicia? Well you did a fine job of that….She's dead because of you." Randy reached out and punched Wally on the shoulder.

Wally was just about to retaliate when Dean put up his hand stopping him.

"Do you smell that?" Dean turned his back to the two men and looked over at Sam. "The smell is getting stronger….That thing is getting closer."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Sierras**

Chapter twelve

"We got to get out of here!" Connie screamed as she grabbed her boyfriend's arm and started pulling him down the trail.

"Stop!" Dean shouted to them. "We got to stay together, it's our only chance. That thing will pick us off easier if we separate."

"What are we going to do?" Wally asked.

"You should have thought about that question before you went and wasted two bullets. Because of you we only have one bullet left, and we got to make it count…. So to answer your question, what we're going to do is stay together and if that thing attacks us, you let me take care of it."

"What if you miss?"

Dean looked him in the eye and answered honestly.

"Then it's everyone for themselves."

"Well shouldn't we at least keep moving? That thing is getting closer, you said so yourself." Randy asked as he and Connie walked back to the group.

"Yeah we'll keep moving, hopefully that thing is just coming back to check out its last kill and isn't hungry yet…. But we stay together." Dean looked at Wally. "And that means you too."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Wally wasn't about to take off by himself, not without the horses.

"Then let's get moving." Dean walked over to his brother who looked exhausted and could barely stand. "You doing okay Sam?" When Sam looked at him but didn't answer he put Sam's arm around his shoulder and started to lead him down the path. "Come on, we got to get moving."

"Dean please….I can't…." Sam protested, he knew he was going to hold them back, his legs felt rubbery and with each step he took he felt like he was going to collapse. "Just leave me behind."

"I thought you were a man Sam; I didn't think you'd give up this easily. Boy was I wrong; you're just a punk who doesn't have the balls to tough it out." Dean said trying to get Sam angry and hopefully by doing that get his brother's adrenaline flowing giving him the strength he needed to keep moving.

Sam heard his brother but didn't respond, he knew what Dean was doing. They had used the same tactic on each other all their lives. Anytime one of them was injured or sick the other would try to get them mad to try and take their focus off of how they felt. But it wasn't working this time, this time the only thing Sam could think of was how lousy he felt, but he knew they had to keep moving and tried instead to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

**Later**

They had gone about half a mile when Sam started to shiver as the heat from his body suddenly left and now was replaced by a numbing cold. Dean felt the change in his brother and stopped to check him out.

"Sam what's going on?" Dean said as he helped Sam sit down on a rock next to a tree.

"I'm s-s-so c-c-cold. I'm j-j-just s-s-so c-c-cold."

Connie stopped walking and turned back to them.

"He's getting worse. First the fever, now the chills…"

"He'll be fine." Dean said knowing what the others were thinking.

Randy walked over and stood next to his girlfriend.

"She's right. He'll never make it out of here and he's just going to hold us all back if we have to wait for him."

"Go on go, you can leave anytime you want to pal. But I'm not leaving my brother behind, and the gun stays with me." There was no way he was giving up his gun, he protected his baby brother all his life and he wasn't about to stop now.

"We got to get out of here…your brother's going to get us all killed." Wally said as he moved next to Randy.

"Then go. Just stay on the path and keep moving." Dean said as he took off his jacket then leaned down and put it over Sam's shoulder trying to keep him warm.

"D-D-Dean they're r-r-right." Sam tried to get the words out as he pulled his brother's jacket around himself. "G-G-Go with them….P-P-Please…"

"I'm not going anywhere Sam." Dean said as he stood back up. When he turned back to the threesome he found himself looking into Wally's gun.

"Give me your gun." Wally said as he kept his own gun trained on Dean's chest.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Glad you still like the story.

**Sierras**

Chapter thirteen

Dean didn't say anything, only stood there glaring at Wally. There was no way he was going to hand over the gun. The jerk had already wasted two bullets and he wasn't about to let him waste a third.

Randy walked over and stood next to Wally.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting the gun, then I'm getting out of here." Wally glanced over at Randy. "You can stay with them or come with me, it's your choice."

"You're not really going to shoot him or you?" Randy looked back and forth between Wally and Dean.

"His brother is holding us up, if he gives me the gun he can come with us, but we're leaving his brother behind … and I'm holding onto the gun."

"Over my dead body." Dean finally spoke.

"You can give me the gun…" Wally raised the gun till it was now pointing at Dean's head. "…or I can take it, it's your choice."

"Dean g-g-go with them…D-D-don't die b-b-because of m-m-me." Sam was now shivering uncontrollably and Dean sat down next to him and put his arm around him trying to keep him warm.

"No one's dying Sam…unless it's this jerk."

"I said give me the gun!" Wally shouted his hand shaking as he pulled back the hammer of the gun. "This is the last chance I'm giving you to come with us." He then pointed the gun at Sam. "Maybe if your brother is dead you'll change your mind."

Before Wally could get a shot off Dean suddenly jumped up and spun around kicking the gun out of his hand but when the gun hit the ground it fired hitting Dean. He gave a little yelp of pain and grabbed his shoulder.

"Dean!" Sam tried to stand up and go to his brother but everything was going in and out of focus and he fell to his knees as a horrible dizzy feeling came over him. "Dean!" He tried to stand again, he had heard Dean's painful cry and knew he had been hit.

"I'm okay Sam…I'm okay." Dean reassured his brother as he picked up Wally's gun and pointed it at him. "I told you once to play nice…and I'm not telling you again. If you try something like that again…I swear I'll kill you."

Dean knew Wally and the others were terrified, hell he wasn't too happy with the situation either, but if Wally tried anything like that again or tried to hurt his brother it would be the last thing he'd ever do.

The exertion of trying to stand was too much for Sam and he once more collapsed to the ground. Dean hurried over to him and helped him back over to the rock. He could tell his brother was growing weaker by the minute. Sam looked up at him with eyes he could barely keep open and saw the blood on Dean's shoulder.

"Dean…" Sam reached toward him. "You okay?"

"Yeah Sam, he just grazed me."

"Oh …thank God…." Sam shut his eyes and leaned back against the tree.

Randy walked over and stood next to Dean.

"What are we going to do?"

"My brother needs to rest; I'll give him a few hours then if he still can't make it… I'll carry him if I have to because I'm not leaving here without him. You can either stay with me or head out on your own. If you decide to leave just keep moving…that thing isn't that fast…The way he gets to you is by using camouflage, not speed. He can blend into the background which makes it almost impossible to spot him… almost impossible but not completely. If you smell him in the area check out your surroundings. When he's blending in with something he's semi transparent and if you look carefully you can see his true form, which makes him detectable…. If you decide to go on your own just watch your surroundings and you might just make it out of here alive."

"What about the gun?"

Dean knew if it was he who was sick and couldn't go on he'd hand over the gun in a heartbeat in order to help them, but his brother's life depended on that gun and there was no way he was going to give it up.

"Sorry, the gun stays with me."

Wally had already made his decision and started walking toward the trail. He looked back at Randy and Connie.

"You can either come with me or stay here and die with them…But either way I'm out of here."

Randy looked over at his girlfriend.

"It's up to you."

Connie hesitated for only a few seconds.

"I want to stay with them." She knew she stood a better chance of making it out of the woods with the two brothers then with Wally.

"Okay." Randy looked back at Wally. "We're staying."

"It's your funeral buddy." Wally said as he continued down the trail. "It's been nice knowing you." He yelled back sarcastically as he rounded a bend and disappeared into the woods.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

I appreciate the reviews, thanks a lot. I'm going on vacation today till next Thursday and will post the next chapter then. Have a nice weekend.

**Sierras **

Chapter fourteen

"Dean no…" Sam softly protested. "T-T-Take them and g-g-go with him."

"I'm not leaving you Sam."

"Dean I'm s-s-sick, I'm j-j-just going to get sicker. G-G-Get out of here w-w-while you have the chance."

"I already told you Sam I'm not leaving you."

Sam looked at him with tears in his eyes. He didn't want his brother or anyone else to die because of him.

"P-P-Please Dean…go…"

"We're walking out of here together Sam. If you can't walk…I'll carry you, but we're walking out of these woods together."

"D-D-Damn it D-D-Dean…..I don't want anyone d-d-dying because of m-m-me. Just g-g-go…."

Sam's words were interrupted by a loud terrified scream. They all knew who it came from.

"Wally!" Randy shouted as he started to run in his friend's direction.

"No! Wait!" Connie knew if the creature was attacking Wally her boyfriend could get himself killed trying to help. She started running after him.

"Hold on ! … Wait!" Dean shouted after them. "Damn it!" He swore when they ignored him. Dean knew he should go with them incase it was the creature but he wasn't about to leave his brother.

"Dean g-g-go with them….they're going t-t-to get themselves k-k-killed." Sam pleaded with him.

Dean knew Sam was right; the couple had no defense against the thing. But there was no way he was leaving Sam. He went to his brother and put Sam's arm over his shoulder. Sam could no longer walk and Dean ended up having to drag him through the woods after the couple. Five minutes later they saw Randy and Connie through the trees and could tell that Randy was fighting something but they couldn't see what. When they got closer they saw that Randy was hitting the creature over and over with a large tree branch but it didn't seem to have any effect on it. The creature had itself firmly wrapped around Wally and they could actually see his body start to shrivel up as the creature ingested his bodily fluids and began to drain him dry. They could see Wally's body hanging from the creature's arms like a dried out leaf and knew that Wally was dead, or would be in a minute or two.

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" Randy screamed at Dean. Dean already had his gun out as he lowered Sam to the ground but he couldn't get a clear shot of the creature's face. He knew he had to make the shot count.

"Get away from it!" Dean shouted over to Randy. He didn't know if once the creature was done with Wally it would attack one of them.

Randy backed away and watched in horror as Wally's body began to shrivel up right before his eyes.

"Shoot it!" He screamed again.

Dean moved closer to the creature but couldn't get a clear head shot. He knew he had to hit it right between its eyes or the bullet would only wound it.

"Shoot it!" Randy continued screaming. All of a sudden his fear got the best of him and he rushed toward Dean grabbing for his gun.

"Let go! Get off of me!" Dean fought with Randy as he tried to keep control of the gun. He tried to keep it aimed at the creature hoping to get a clear shot off, but Randy kept grabbing his arm knocking his aim off. "Damn it Randy let go of my arm!"

As they struggled for the gun the creature suddenly dropped Wally whose withered corpse fell to the ground. The creature then also dropped to the ground and immediately blended into it making it almost impossible to see. Dean could barely see the creature but he watched in horror as the grass bent down and turned brown as it made its way toward his brother.

"Nooooo!" He screamed as he tried to push Randy away.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for the reviews.

**Sierras **

Chapter fifteen

"Sam look out!" Dean shouted a warning to his brother. He had no idea if the creature was going to attack his brother or was just trying to escape down the path in which Sam was lying.

Sam could see the grass bending down then turning brown and dying as the creature got closer to him. He tried to stand but once more everything started going in and out of focus and he collapsed back to the ground. The only thing he could do was roll out of its path and hope that the creature didn't attack him.

Dean seeing his brother threatened went into full fighting mode and easily knocked Randy to the ground with a punch to his face. He hadn't wanted to hurt Randy, it was obvious he was just scared and was trying to protect himself and his girlfriend in the only way he knew how and that was to take control of the gun. Dean had known there was nothing they could have done for Wally and that it was senseless to try to shoot the thing until he was sure he could hit him in the only place he knew of that would kill it and that was right between its eyes. So he had tried only to keep control of the gun and not to fight Randy, he didn't want to hurt him if he didn't have to. But once the creature headed toward his brother he had no choice. He took Randy down with one punch. The creature was barely visible as it crawled across the grass but Dean could tell it still kept its back toward him as if realizing the danger to itself if it exposed its face. He ran over and stood protectively in front of Sam who had managed to roll off the path and now lay on his back propped up on his elbows watching the creature approach. But instead of going for Sam the thing headed down the path and disappeared into the woods. Dean breathed a sigh of relief, he figured the creature had ate its fill and only wanted to escape.

"You okay Sammy?" Dean asked as he knelt by his brother's side. Sam looked awful. He had tossed off Dean's jacket and he could tell Sam's fever had returned and he was burning up again.

"Yeah." He wasn't about to tell Dean how bad he really felt. He looked over at Randy whose girlfriend was kneeling by his side. "You better check on him, he might be hurt."

Dean patted Sam on the shoulder then got up and walked over to Randy. It was just like his brother to always be worried about the other guy. He reached down and pulled Randy up.

"Don't you ever try a stunt like that again." He warned him. "If that gun would have gone off, our chances of killing that thing would have gone out the door."

"Why didn't you shoot it? It was killing Wally…If it had been your brother you wouldn't have hesitated."

"I couldn't get a clean shot off. Plus Wally was already dead or dying, there was nothing we could have done for him."

"We could have tried."

"How? What did you want me to do?"

"I don't know….something…."

"The only way to kill it is a bullet between its eyes…. Its back was to me and maybe if you would have stayed out of it I could have gotten it to turn around." Randy looked down and Dean could tell he felt guilty. "Look…I know you're scared… hey I'm not too thrilled to be out here either. But we got to try and stay calm and look out for each other. Wally got himself killed by leaving the group…he should have just stayed with us. … I'm going to try my best to get us all out of here alive but something could always go wrong and if it does you're on your own….But for now we stay together."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry I screwed up. I guess I just panicked."

"It's okay, it happens." Dean looked back at his brother who had managed to pull himself up against a tree. Sam's head lolled to the side and his eyes were shut and Dean wasn't sure if he was even still conscious. "I got to check on my brother." He said as he hurried back to Sam.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean put his hand against Sam's cheek and could feel the heat radiating off of it.

Connie walked over and stood next to him. She reached down and touched Sam's forehead.

"Your brother is burning up with fever. If we don't cool him down he's going to die."

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Sierras**

Chapter sixteen

"Let's get him to the creek." Dean had had enough first aide training from his dad to know that Sam needed to be cooled down quick and the best way to do it was to cool him off in the creek. "Come on Sammy." Dean reached down and put Sam's arm over his shoulder then drug him the short distance to the creek.

Once there he took Sam's shirt off.

"We need to get his pants off too." Connie said as she took Sam's shoes off.

"No….no….." Even as sick as he was Sam weakly tried to push Dean's hands away as he unsnapped his pants.

"This isn't the time for modesty Sam. We got to get you cooled down."

Connie put her hands on either side of Sam's face then tilted his head up and looked into his eyes.

"Sam we got to cool you down and this is the only way we can." Connie said as she gave him a small reassuring smile. "Don't worry; we'll leave your boxers on."

He relaxed a little knowing he wasn't going to be totally naked.

After they had Sam undressed Dean looked over at Randy, he could tell the creature was nearby by the smell that still permeated the air.

"Keep an eye out for that thing. It's going to try to blend into the surroundings but you should still be able to spot it. Just keep a lookout for dried out bushes or dead patches of grass, it tends to kill things as it touches it."

Randy nodded as he watched them lower Sam into the deep creek. Dean took the gun out of his waistband and put it next to him on the bank of the creek not wanting it to get wet. He then climbed into the creek with Sam and cradled his head in his lap as he let the cold water rush over his brother's body. Connie climbed in next to them and gently splashed water onto Sam's face and chest.

"Doesn't that feel better?" She asked.

"It's c-c-cold." Sam said shivering as he gave her a small smile. The cold water against his fevered skin felt both soothing and also freezing at the same time.

"Yeah it is, but it'll take your fever down."

He then leaned his head back and looked up at Dean.

"S-s-sorry for being so much t-t-trouble." Sam knew if it wasn't for him they would still be on the trail.

"No problem, we needed to stop and rest any way." Dean lied. He too knew their only hope was to keep on moving, but that was impossible with Sam being as sick as he was. If the others wanted to go on that was fine with him, but he was going to stay with his brother no matter what.

Their talk was interrupted by Randy who began backing up toward the creek.

"It's here! … Oh my God it's here!"

Randy could see the bushes and grass turning brown as the creature approached. He continued backing up and accidently knocked the gun into the creek.

"Get out of here!" Dean told Connie as he watched the dying grass grow closer. He had been reaching for the gun just as Randy had knocked it into the water, and now with the sunlight glaring off the water surface it made it impossible to see where it had landed. Dean had no choice but to let go of Sam as he frantically groped around for the gun. Finally his hand closed on it and he raised it out of the water…but he was too late. The creature was already on him and knocked the gun back into the water. Before he could retrieve it the thing had him. He could feel its suction cup hands latch onto his shoulder. He took out his knife and began stabbing at it but he knew it was hopeless. The only thing that could kill it was now lying lost in the water. The creature pulled Dean out of the creek and onto dry land as it began to suck the life fluids out of his body.

"Get out of here!" He screamed at Connie and Randy who stood frozen with fear at the edge of the creek. They hesitated for a few seconds before turning and running off into the woods. He was glad they took off; he didn't want them to watch him die. Dean knew this day was going to come sooner or later and he wasn't afraid to die…. What scared him more was knowing that with him gone, his brother wasn't going to make it out of the woods either.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks for the reviews, glad you still like the story.

**Sierras**

Chapter seventeen

Dean was surprised to find that dying didn't really hurt that much. He could feel himself slowly growing weaker as the creature slowly drained the fluids from his body.

"Dean!" Sam cried out as he crawled out onto the creek bank.

"Sammy…." He could see his brother struggling to stand up but he wasn't able to and kept falling back to the ground. "I'm sorry Sammy…." He knew he had failed his brother and now they both would die….But then he saw it…. Sam had the gun.

Sam felt lousy and struggled to stay conscious as he finally managed to stand up then leaned against a tree for support. He held the gun out in front of him, but the creature and his brother kept going in and out of focus and he knew he couldn't shoot without taking the chance that he could hit his brother. He also knew there was only one bullet left and if he missed the creature his brother was dead.

"Let go of him!" Sam shouted as he tried to hold the gun steady. "Damn it let him go you bastard!" The dizziness was making him sick and he collapsed to his knees then fell forward onto his stomach but somehow managed to hold onto the gun. He kept it aimed at the creature as he slowly crawled forward. He knew he had to get in front of it in order to shoot it and used every ounce of strength he had to accomplish that goal.

He finally made it around to the front of the creature. He could tell his brother was growing weaker and knew it was now or never. He once more managed to get to his knees and aimed the gun.

"Shoot it Sam…." Dean said when he saw his brother at his side.

Tears came to Sam's eyes when he realized the fever wasn't letting him see straight and everything was blurry. He knew his aim would be off and he could just as easily hit Dean instead of the thing.

"I can't Dean…I can't….." The gun shook in his hand; he was terrified he'd shoot his brother.

"You have to Sam ….just try…."

Tears ran down Sam's face. He knew he had no choice.

He tried to aim between the creature's eyes then held his breath as he slowly pulled the trigger…He missed. The bullet tore into the creature's eye blinding him but not killing him. In anger it tossed Dean aside like a rag doll then howled in rage as it walked over towards Sam then stood towering over him. It then reached down and pulled him up into its deadly embrace. Sam hung limp from its arms too exhausted to even try to get away. At least he had saved Dean, and to him that was all that mattered.

Dean landed with a jolt and gave a little grunt of pain as he hit the ground. He quickly spun around and looked over his shoulder hoping he'd see the creature lying dead. He had heard the shot and the scream of pain from the thing and knew it had been hit but when he looked back he was horrified to see the creature now holding Sam firmly in its grasp.

"Sammy!" Dean screamed as he ran over and began slicing at the creature with his knife. The knife sliced through the creature's flesh but the cut immediately grew shut.

"Let go of him you son of a bitch!" Dean screamed. He knew now that the last bullet was gone there was no way to kill the creature, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying. Dean could feel the heat radiating off of Sam's body as he tried to pull him from the creature's arms.

"Dean go…get out of here….you can't help me…save yourself…." Sam said softly as he looked at his brother through half shut eyes.

"I'm not leaving here without you Sammy." Dean said as he continued trying to cut Sam from the creature's arms but it was impossible, as soon as he would cut the creature its wound would heal over.

"Please Dean…go with the others….you got to get them out of here." Sam knew he was going to die but at least Dean could hopefully save himself and the others.

The thought of leaving Sam behind never crossed his mind. Either they'd get out of this together or they'd die together, either way he was staying at his brother's side. He remembered his dad always told them that one day they might be forced to leave the other behind in order to save a stranger's life… that that was their purpose in life… saving others. But there was no way he was going to leave his brother's side even if it meant sitting there watching him die, at least he wouldn't die alone.

Dean could tell that the knife was useless; it didn't even hurt the thing. He finally put it down and grabbed Sam's hand and squeezed it tight hoping his touch would somehow comfort his brother as he died.

"I'm sorry Sammy….I'm so sorry I let you down…" Dean's eyes filled with tears as he looked down not wanting Sam to see him cry. He had never given up before but now he knew it was hopeless, Sam was going to die and there was nothing he could do but sit there and watch. With Sam gone he knew he couldn't go on, there would be no reason to, not with his whole family gone. He decided he would die with his brother. He knew it was the coward's way out but he didn't care. He had no reason to live if his brother was gone and maybe while the creature was busy with him Randy and Connie could escape.

"Dean go….don't do this…." Sam knew what Dean was doing, he was giving up. "You still might be able to get out of here." When Dean didn't answer he added. "You need to get _them_ out of here." He hoped knowing other people depended on him would knock some sense into his brother.

"They've taken off Sam….there's nothing I can do for them."

"So you're going to die here with me?... Dean don't…please go….please get out of here…"

Dean said nothing, only gripped Sam's hand even harder. Yeah, that's exactly what he intended to do, die with his brother; there would be no reason to live if Sam was gone.

"Dean you need to get out of here….there's other people out there you can save. Don't die here with me….please."

"I'm not going anywhere Sam." Dean looked into his brother's eyes. "You die…I die…"

Sam's eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he threw his head back and gasped in pain as a strange sensation shot through his body.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Well this is the last chapter. I hope you like it and that the ending doesn't suck too bad. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, I really, really enjoyed reading the different comments and private messages.

**Sierras**

Chapter eighteen

"Sam!" Dean screamed seeing his brother in pain. He once more frantically tried to pull Sam from the creature's arms with no luck.

Suddenly and without warning the creature tossed Sam into the air. He hit the ground hard then looked over at his brother.

"Sam!" Dean ran over and knelt down next to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah…." Sam looked at him confused. "What …what happened?" He asked as he looked back at the creature.

"I don't know…." Dean looked over at the thing who was screaming out in pain and rage as it staggered toward the woods. "Maybe he didn't like the way you tasted….You sure you're okay?" Dean asked as he examined the suction cup marks on Sam's shoulder and chest.

"Yeah…in fact I actually feel pretty good."

Dean reached out and put his hand on Sam's forehead.

"Your fever's almost gone."

"You don't think…." Sam started saying as he watched the creature stumble into the woods.

"I don't know what to think…. Your fever is gone, and you're feeling better….I think maybe that thing sucked the poison or whatever it was out of your system and into its own system." Dean said as he watched the creature fall then take a few steps and fall again. "I think it's dying."

"You think…you think whatever I was sick from killed it?" Sam said as he stood up then reached down and offered his brother his hand, Dean grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"It sure looks that way." Dean said as he watched the creature start to shudder then fall over and lay still. He walked over to it and kicked it but it didn't move. He looked back over at Sam and smiled. "Hey that was pretty cool, sort of like the movie War of the Worlds. All it took was some germs and the thing fell over dead."

"You sure it's dead?"

Dean picked up his knife and went back over to the creature. In a few quick slices he had decapitated it. He then reached down and tossed the head away from the body.

"Well if it wasn't it is now." He said grinning.

"Guess so." Sam looked down the trail in the direction Randy and Connie had run. "We better see if we can catch up to that couple. They're probably scared to death."

Dean gave a little laugh.

"They're probably half way to the east coast by now."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Sam smiled back at his brother as he quickly pulled on his clothes.

**Later**

An hour later they caught up to the couple and an hour after that they found their horses grazing in a small clearing. Both brothers were glad to see the horses hadn't been harmed and seemed fine although a little skittish. They then rode double back to the ranger's cabin.

**Early the next morning**

"So what do we tell the rangers?" Connie asked as they climbed off the horses as they neared the edge of the woods. Through the trees they could see the ranger's station in a clearing up ahead.

"Anything but the truth." Dean gave her a small smile. "They won't believe you."

Randy shook both of their hands.

"Thanks….we'd probably both be dead if it wasn't for you two."

"Sorry your friends didn't make it." Sam said softly.

"I know." Randy said sadly. "But there was nothing you could have done. Wally just panicked, and ended up getting both of them killed….He almost killed you too."

"He was just scared….you can't blame him for that."

"I don't…." He looked over at Dean. "I'm sorry I flipped out and grabbed the gun, I never should have done that. You saved our lives. If there is anything we can do for you let us know."

"Well there might be something." Dean said as he watched a police car pull up at the ranger station. "I'd appreciate it if you would take our horses back for us. My brother and I need to keep moving." Dean had no idea why the cops were there but he knew the last thing they needed was to be questioned by them. He already had a warrant out for his arrest and they couldn't take the chance the cop would run a check on them.

"Sure." Randy looked over at the police car. If the brothers were in trouble with the law he figured it was none of his business. "You have a way out of here?"

"My car's right over there." Dean nodded toward the Impala.

"Okay go….we'll wait fifteen minutes before we take the horses in. That should give you time to get out of here and back on the main road."

"Thanks…you two take care." Sam said as he and Dean once more shook their hands then headed toward their car which was parked at the end of the parking lot.

They climbed in and as quietly as possible left the lot and headed out onto the road. Once they were back on the highway Sam reached in his pocket and took out the twenty he had won from Dean.

"How 'bout stopping for something to eat…. It's on me." He said smiling as he waved the bill in front of Dean.

"You never should have won that bet…I just let you think I was sore because you were sick." Dean lied, the truth was his butt was killing him but he'd never tell Sam that.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…." Sam said as he leaned back and shut his eyes enjoying the cool breeze from his open window as they sped down the highway and toward their next hunt.

The End


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